§ § § -- September 11, 1994
Jenny poked through her tote bag and groaned. "Oh, no. I forgot to bring my sunscreen out here. That has to be a really boneheaded move."
"Use mine," said Tara, going through her bag as well and then grinning stupidly at her sister. "On the other hand, don't…"
They looked at each other and abruptly broke into laughter. "Dania and her shells," Jenny said, casting an affectionate glance down the beach to where Dania could be seen poking through the sand with her toes. "It's all her fault for dragging us out in such a hurry. Who wants to go back for the sunscreen?" She suddenly hoped Tara would volunteer; she had no doubt that Ray would be lurking around the bungalow.
"Guess I will," Tara said, already getting onto her feet. "You've spent way too much time in that bungalow as it is, so you stay right here and wait. And wrap my towel around you to keep out the sun till I get back." She shook sand off her towel and dropped it in Jenny's lap before trotting back up the beach.
Jenny draped the towel around her shoulders and drew up her knees, folding her arms over them and resting her chin on one forearm, gazing out to sea. There was a hypnotic effect to the waves, and the crashing surf soothed her, lulling her into daydreams. So she was quite startled when Dania's shadow fell across her and the girl said, "Mom?"
She squinted up at Dania's face in the sunlight. "Hi, sweetie, what's up?"
"Just checking to see if you're all right. You looked spaced out," Dania said, grinning. Her face lit with excitement and she displayed a mesh bag at Jenny. "You should just see all these cool shells I'm picking up. They're all gorgeous! Can I go over that way and try to find some more? I won't stay away long, I promise." She pointed down the beach, which curved gently around a clump of palms.
Jenny looked around her; the beach was sparsely populated, but she wasn't alone. So she nodded, feeling reasonably safe. "Okay, but don't go where I can't see you."
"Got it," said Dania. "Thanks, Mom, you're the best!" She pounded away across the sand, bag swinging at her side. Jenny watched her go and tried to remember when she was eleven years old and had not a care on earth.
"Hey, babe…" She stiffened in shock at Ray's voice, softly menacing, right beside her ear. "You knew it was just a matter of time, didn't ya? And I bet you thought you'd be all safe and sound out here on the beach. You and me got some talking to do."
"We've done all our talking," Jenny muttered through clenched teeth. The knot in the back of her head began to subtly throb again, as if in reminder. "Although with you, I notice there aren't a lot of words involved."
Ray threw the towel off her and hauled her onto her feet with a brutal grab-and-yank that he had perfected over time. "I keep telling you not to talk back to me," he growled, "but you never listen, do you? I saw you out here, waiting for that guy. Figured you'd get away with it out here in public, huh? What I got to say is private, so you're coming with me."
"But I can't leave Dania," Jenny protested desperately.
"Dania's old enough to take care of herself for awhile," Ray said, towing her in his wake even as he spoke. "No guy's coming along to take you away from me, and I mean it. I don't know what else it takes to get you to see the light…" He ranted and complained as he dragged Jenny with him; she struggled to stay on her feet, panic blooming within her at every step. She kept trying to see around her, hoping someone would come along and thwart Ray's plans, but Ray obviously knew where he was going. He'd said he had been here some two months; that was plenty of time to learn the paths on this island and find the most secluded spot he could to do his damage.
On a path that cut through some decidedly dense jungle, Ray abruptly stopped and threw her against the trunk of a palm, knocking the breath out of her momentarily. It was long enough for him to move in and frame her face with both hands, his touch strangely gentle but his smile cruel. "Right here, babe. What a setting, huh? Loads of exotic tropical flowers, birds singing…perfect place for me to remind you what we had together." Before Jenny had enough time to derive his meaning, Ray grabbed the neck of her tank top with both hands and pulled with all his strength, ripping the shirt in two and right off her. At the same time he ground his mouth down on hers. Her scream funneled into his mouth, making him intensify the painful travesty of a kiss.
Oh God, he's going to rape me, Jenny realized with horror. It would be a first for Ray, who had up till now always resorted to inflicting external pain. Terror completely overtook her and she reverted to instinct, fighting madly to get away from him and making him even more enraged than he already was. Panic gave her extra strength and Ray found it unusually difficult to control her, though he certainly didn't let it deter him. Once she managed to get her face free, and she sucked in a hard, sharp gasp and let her scream ring through the trees. "Go ahead, nobody'll hear you," Ray grunted, trying to rip off the rest of her clothing while she fought him.
"What on God's green earth is going on here?" someone suddenly demanded in shock. Ray froze, then turned and found himself staring at a stunned Rodney Stone. Jenny gasped and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to cover what Ray had exposed. Ray's eyes narrowed when he recognized Rodney.
"You're the guy Jenny was talking to yesterday! If you know what's good for you, you'll get your tail outta here while I deal with my ex-wife," he snarled.
"No, please…Rodney, help me!" Jenny cried out, terrified.
With a swift glance Rodney took in her condition and her expression, then shifted his scrutiny to Ray and shook his head. "If you have to rape a woman to get her attention, pal, then you must be one truly colossal loser."
"Get outta here before I beat you into a pulp too," Ray shouted, rapidly advancing on Rodney with clenched fists. "First you, then her."
"Rodney, watch out!" Jenny screamed.
Distracted, Ray paused long enough to point at her and roar, "Shut up and wait your turn, you hear me? 'Cause you're gonna be next!" It gave Rodney all the time he needed, and he balanced on his good leg and swung the other high into the air with incredible speed in a karate kick that connected very satisfyingly with Ray's neck. The sound of the impact made Jenny's stomach turn. Ray wrapped his hands around his throat, gurgled and gagged, and sank to the ground, face gradually going from deep red to an alarming shade of purple.
Jenny stared at him while Rodney came to her and lifted her chin with his gentlest possible touch. "Are you okay, Jenny? You're not hurt or anything?"
"N-no," she managed, finally meeting his gaze with stunned eyes. "My God…Rodney, what'd you do? Did you break his neck?"
Rodney shrugged, suddenly self-conscious, and glanced behind him to where Ray was struggling to draw breath, gagging with every attempt. "Nah, I didn't break his neck—if I had, he wouldn't be moving. But I think I hit him in the jugular."
Jenny's hand automatically went to her own throat and she goggled at him, saucer-eyed. "When did you learn karate?"
Rodney's grin was self-deprecating. "Part of my ongoing therapy in my teens and twenties to help strengthen my bad leg. I'll always have a limp, they said, but I'd have much better use of it and keep the muscles in good shape." He spied something on the ground and picked up her torn tank top. "Aw, Jenny…he was gonna rape you, wasn't he?"
She nodded, still too shocked to react at the moment. "If you hadn't come along…"
He smoothed back her hair. "I was looking for you anyway, and someone told me this was a shortcut to the beach. Lucky I found you here."
Jenny stared up at him and suddenly grinned a little, delirium beginning to creep over her. "Yeah…lucky all right. I should tell you about my luck sometime."
Rodney chuckled and gathered her into his embrace. "Look, let's get you off to your bungalow so you can get some fresh clothes and we can call someone about him." They both eyed Ray, who by now had toppled to the ground, still concentrating on breathing. There was a loud rattle in his throat with every inhalation. "He's gonna need medical help as it is, so we might as well call the paramedics as well as the cops."
Jenny nodded slowly and let him lead her along the trail in the direction from which Rodney had come. "Rodney…what about Monica Gold?"
"That's why I was looking for you," Rodney explained. "The wedding's off, Jenny. I just couldn't do it—I'd have been marrying her solely for her money, and even though we both knew it, in the end it went against everything I was raised to believe. I talked to her this morning and then came to find you. I was going to ask you if…" He cut himself off, cast a glance behind them and then hesitantly met her gaze. "Although I don't think you'd be up to answering at all, never mind telling me what I hope to hear, after what he did to you."
But Jenny was feeling remarkably lighthearted all of a sudden, with Rodney and his unexpected karate knowledge to bolster her spirits. "Try me anyway," she suggested.
"Well, okay then." Rodney stopped them in the path and faced her. "Will you marry me, Jenny Knight?"
She stared at him in amazement, her eyes going enormous again. "What made you…"
"I'll tell you later," he said, placing a finger over her lips and grinning at her. "Just answer the question."
"In that case, the answer is yes," Jenny replied. A grin spread over her features. "So you're not down on one knee and I'm not exactly dressed for the occasion—it doesn't matter to me. My fantasy ended in the best way possible."
Rodney hugged her hard, and she snuggled up against him, feeling safe for the first time since her marriage to Ray. "By the way…I looked for you last night at the luau," he said. "I wanted to apologize to you for what I said at the pool. Where were you?"
Jenny sighed and explained about Ray's first visit to the bungalow the day before. "I just didn't feel like facing anyone and having to tell them he was there, so I holed up in the bedroom and wound up sleeping the rest of the day and all night." She gazed at him as they ambled along. "Since you're marrying me now instead of Monica, what about your business?"
"Oh," said Rodney. "Well…I'll come up with something. If I have to sell my house, I will. If you don't mind living in an apartment for awhile…"
Jenny didn't reply right away, mulling over his words. "I don't have a problem with living in an apartment, but I have to wonder if you'd get angry again if I make a suggestion."
"Like what?" Rodney asked.
"Like the one I tried to make at the pool yesterday. Before you say anything, let me finish. What I was going to offer is that I invest in Stonecyphers using my trust fund. You can get the company back on its feet; and when it's making money, you can pay it back in dividends. Does that satisfy your pride?" She smiled to take the sting out of the words.
Rodney stared at her, astonished. "You wanted to invest in Stonecyphers?" She nodded and he groaned aloud, letting his head fall back in self-disgust. "Rodney Stone, you are the biggest moron who ever lived, no question about it! Aw, Jenny…I'm so sorry. I really am. I was so worked up over Monica and the wedding and my financial problems…I just didn't think. Too many people have assumed I'm less capable than I am just because of this limp, and too many others felt sorry for me and made offers a lot like what I almost went into with Monica. Somehow I conveniently forgot that you never seemed to see my limp, right from that first time we met each other back in '79. I should've known after you came up to me that weekend and asked if I'd take you to the luau."
"I never cared about your limp," Jenny said comfortably, pulling the torn tank top closed around her as they emerged into the lane that led to the bungalows. "I noticed it, of course, but I figured it was just part of you and your past, part of what made you Rodney Stone. And you know, there's something incredibly cool and heroic about a guy whose limp is capable of taking out bad guys."
Rodney roared with laughter and hugged her again. "You're way too good for my ego, Jenny. Come on and let's take care of our particular bad guy once and for all, so I can meet Dania and hopefully pass muster, and then we can get married right here on this island before you slip through my fingers again."